In reply to Toby S:
One New Year’s Eve 1918
The Iolaire she put to sea
For help was needed to bring hundreds home
They’d been to the war for years
Hobhan, hobhan-o
From Stornoway she sailed forth
Calm was the Minch as she set her course
For Kyle of Lochalsh the captain did steer
There to be met by the sailors’ cheers
Hobhan, hobhan-o
From the townships of Ness, to the village of Bayble
Preparation was made and each table was laid
For hundreds of sailors were returning home
The seas did whisper and the winds did moan
Hobhan, hobhan-o
284 set sail that day
A thousand wild horses could not have made them stay
Sweet were the tears of joy they cried
As they sailed from Kyle in the darkening night
Hobhan, hobhan-o
A New Year was born as midnight bells tolled
The winds whipped the waves to a raging storm
But the Arnish light filled their hearts with a glow
The storm was forgotten as they made ready for home
But in a moment the light from Arnish was gone
The men told the captain his course had gone wrong
No attention he paid to their warning cries
But picked up a gun and threatened their lives
From the bridge in terror the men they ran down
As the captain tried vainly the boat to swing round
On the deck they stood with baited breath
As up from the depths came the fingers of death
Well the seas still raged and the winds still roared
One mile from home lay Holm’s rocky shore
At 1:55 she struck rocks unseen
Black was the New Year of 1919
Hobhan, hobhan-o
No assistance was there easy to hand
And barely a sailor there was who made land
Caught between the wind and the sea
The Iolaire sank within sight of her lea
Hobhan, hobhan-o
Little could be done had it been broad day light
Far less in the depths of a stormy black night
To the families of Lewis the chilly winds moaned
Your sons they have perished and they’ll never come home
Hobhan, hobhan-o
The Iolaire she went down
With the loss of over 200 men
It seemed each pebble on the shore
It bore a sailor’s name
It seemed each pebble on the shore
It bore a sailor’s name
